FESTIVAL DANCE PE 9

Festivals in the Philippines, renowned for their grand, colorful festivals, are an important aspect of the
local culture. A variety of festivals celebrated here are religious based, considering the Spanish influence on
Catholicism in the Philippines.
Festival dances are cultural dances performed to the strong beats of percussion instruments by a
community of people sharing the same culture usually done in honor of a Patron Saint or in thanksgiving of a
bountiful harvest. Festival dances may be religious or secular in nature. The best thing about festivals is that they
add to the merry-making and festivities where they are celebrated, the reason why they are called festival dances
after all. Festival dances draw the people’s culture by portraying the people’s ways of life through movements,
costumes and implements inherent to their place of origin.
Religious and Secular Festival
As mentioned earlier, festival may either be religious, in honor of a certain religious icon
or secular or non-religious, in thanksgiving or celebration of our industry and bountiful harvest. The following are
some of the said festivals:

RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS

Name of Festival Place of Origin Religious Figure Honored Month Celebrated

Sinulog Festival Cebu City Sto. Niño January

Dinagyang Festival Iloilo City Sto. Niño January

Ati-atihan Festival Kalibo, Aklan Sto. Niño January

Peñafrancia Bicol Virgin Mary September

Higantes Festival Angono, Rizal Saint Clement November

Longganisa Festival Viga City, locos Sur Saint Paul January

Kinabayo Festival Dapitan City James the Great July

Pintados de Passi Passi City, Iloilo Sto. Niño March

Pattarradday Santiago City Señor San Tiago May

Sanyaw Festival Tacloban Sto. Niño July

SECULAR/NON-RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS

Name of Festival Place of Origin Industry Month Celebrated

Bangus Festival Dagupan, Pangasinan Milkfish Industry April to May

Bambanti Festival Isabela Scarecrow (farming) January

Mammangui Festival City of Ilagan Corn Industry May

Mango Festival Iba, Zambales Mango Industry April

Panagbenga Festival Baguio City Flower Industry February

Ibon Ebon Festival Pampanga Migratory Birds Egg Industry February

Masskara Bacolod City Mask (Sugar Industry) October

T’nalak South Cotabato Tinalak Cloth Weaving July

Ammungan Festival Nueva Vizcaya Gathering of Tribal Industries May

Binatbatan Festival Vigan, Ilocos Sur Weaving Industry May

FUNDAMENTAL RHYTHMS
The skills in a fundamental rhythm program are important in setting the basis for the more precise dance
skills of folk, social, and creative dances. It is also related to effective movement in all forms of living.
A. Locomotor Movements
These are movements that allow you to move from one point in space to another. They are canned from
two words, “locos” which means place and “motor” which means movement. They include the following:
a. Step – is the basis of all locomotor movements. It prepares you to move in any direction you wish to go. It is
defined as transfer of weight from one foot to the other.
b. Walk – series of steps executed by both of your feet alternately in any direction. In executing a walk, observe
that there’s this moment when both feet are in contact with the ground while one foot supports the weight and
transfers it to the other.
c. Run – series of walks executed quickly in any direction wherein only one foot stays on the ground while the
other is off the ground.
d. Hop – is a spring from one-foot landing on the same foot. In hopping, the body is sent up and down by one
foot.
e. Jump – a spring from one or both feet, landing on both. On landing, the balls of the feet touch the floor first,
then the heels come down, the knees bend to absorb shock of landing.
f. Skip – is a series of fast step-hops done with alternate feet.
g. Slide – a glide followed by quick close. h. Leap - a spring on one-foot landing on the other foot. i. Gallop – a
series of stepping and cutting movements done either sideward or forward with one foot always leading.
B. Non-locomotor Movements
These are movements that are performed in one point in space without transferring to another point.
a. Bending or Flexing – are movement around a joint, forward, backward or sideward.
b. Stretching – a full extension of the arms, legs, or trunk in any direction.
c. Swinging – the arms, legs, head, trunk are moved in an arc alternating the directions, or in a full circle around a
stationary center.
d. Twisting – the rotation of one part of the body around the base of support. It can only take place at the spinal,
neck, shoulder, hip and wrist joint.
e. Turning – the rotation of the body around the base of support in a continuous line of direction.
f. Swaying – the weight is transferred from one base of support to another with a rocking motion.

STEPS AND COUNT PATTERNS OF THE BASIC FESTIVAL DANCE MOVEMENTS

The basic steps below are using a 2/4-time signature, because most of our festival dance music is either in
2/4 or 4/4-time signature.

ELEMENTS OF DANCE
1. Body
In dance, body is a medium of creating figures and movements. It is the physical instrument that a dancer uses.
Certain choreography is being creatively formulated by our minds then transferring these to physical movements.
The quality of movements you are going to use also depends upon what type your body is; indeed a healthy body
is a core of dance choreographies.
2. Space
Space is not just only the place of performance, such as the stage, studio or a street. it is where the action of the
dance takes place. There have two different kinds of space, the Personal and General space. Personal space is
all the area that your limbs can reach. The General space is the area of all the performers are using.
3. Time
Time can be classified as Clock Time and Speed of movement.
 Clock Time- It is the phases of the dance. It indicates how many seconds, minutes or hours are there in a one
dance production.
 Speed- Movements can be classified as, quick or slow. Speed can sometimes show the quality of the
movements, because it intertwined with the Effort.
4. Effort
Every effort created by the dancers conceives different meanings. For example, the soft and light movements can
show affection and concern, while sudden and forceful movements can be used to display arguments, fights and
anger and even humor.
5. Relationship
Relationship is the way a dancer bond with the things and people that surrounds him. It is about how he
manipulated objects in accordance to his dance motives and concepts. Group relationship among its members
also forms visually good and appealing dance choreographies.